Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and has existed since the 1750s, but it has grown rapidly since then, and affluent suburbs are sprouting along the Pennsylvania Railroad's main route. Philadelphia was the great and most important city in America at the time of the American Revolution. In the 19th century, Philadelphia was the second largest metropolis in the United States after New York City. The city grew rapidly to become a prosperous suburb built around the Pennsylvania Railroad's Main Line, and by the end of World War II it was already the larger city in Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia lost population and jobs as a result of suburbanization and industrial decline, but in 1987 a series of new skyscrapers that redefined the Philadelphia skyline and were part of the construction boom of the 1990 "s and early 2000" s signaled change.

In 2001, the Independence Visitor Center was opened in the park, and in 2003, a new Liberty Bell Center was opened to house the famous bell. This historic complex, which is associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history, is located on the site of the original Liberty Bell, one of Philadelphia's most famous landmarks. Founded by William Penn as a place of religious tolerance, this spirit was imbued with the early steps of independence.

In the early 16th century, Dutch, English, and Swedish merchants established trading posts in the Delaware Valley. England, however, had taken control of the entire region for itself; in 1681, King Charles II of England issued William Penn with a charter for the country that became Pennsylvania, making him the first governor of the later colony of Pennsylvania. What drew her to the city was Benjamin Franklin, who became editor of the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729.

Today Philadelphia is the largest city in the USA with 1.2 million inhabitants and the second largest metropolis in the United States after New York City. Pennsylvania's legislation redrew Philadelphia's boundaries and encompassed an entire district, pushing the city's population up by a second. Today, more than 6 million people live in Philadelphia, Camden, and Wilmington metropolitan areas; the population, estimated by the 2010 US Census at 1,526,006, is more than double that of 2000.

The city is located in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, between the Philadelphia River and the Delaware River, and lies within the boundaries of Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. There are parts of southern Philadelphia, particularly Italian and Irish, that were settled in the 19th century mainly by European immigrants. More interesting is the Germantown part of North Philadelphia, which was settled during Penn's time by wealthy Philadelphians fleeing the Civil War and its aftermath, as well as by immigrants from Europe.

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway offers stunning views that cut diagonally northwest of Penn Square, enclosing Logan Square and leading to Fairmount Park. It contains numerous distinctive sections, often identified for generations with the various ethnic groups that filled the city throughout its long history. As the first US city to be established in this way, it followed the pattern of other cities such as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston.

On this page you can zoom in to learn more about the city of Philadelphia, located just a few miles south of Philadelphia International Airport. There are many attractions in the area, Philadelphia being a quick stopover, including the Pennsylvania Museum of Natural History, the University of Pennsylvania and the National Archives.

Fairmount is known not only for its shady, chiseled elegance, but also for one of the nation's most popular tourist attractions, the Philadelphia Museum of Natural History. The annual popular destination of visitors is the statue of Rocky Balboa, which shows the fictional boxer with outstretched arms. Other major tourist attractions include Pennsylvania State Park, Philadelphia's largest landscaped park, and the College Park of the University of Pennsylvania.

Landmarks of early American history, including Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, abound throughout the city. Zoom in to see the building that signed the United States Constitution, the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell, and zoom in to the historic Philadelphia neighborhood, the Old Town.

This is one of the places where the state adopted its first constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.

In 1774 and 1776, the first and second Continental Congresses met in Philadelphia, and both were held in Philadelphia. The colonial fathers gave freedom a voice and life at the first Continental Congress, when ordinary Philadelphia citizens gathered in the humble carpenter's hall on Chestnut Street. After a meeting with widely acclaimed applause, a stage was set for declaring independence, which the Founding Fathers did on July 4, 1776. Until June 18, 1778, it served as the unofficial capital of the nation, then it was held by the British. From 1781 to 1783 it was the capital of the United States according to the statutes of the Confederation.